In fact, the appreciation, liking and knowledge of aerodynamics which I gained at that time have been a great strength to me throughout my career, especially when I was moved into the field of gas turbines. Whittle’s W2 engine, of 1,600 lb thrust, was approved by the appropriate Ministry, but for manufacture by the Rover company, already fully stretched with Bristol air-cooled radial engine production and repair. This had been instituted by the Busk family in memory of Edward Busk who was killed as a pioneer aviator. A must read for all budding engineers, which is both light and easy to follow despite the complex engineering involved. I feel that Sir Stanley was perhaps somewhat glib about the harsh realities of the changes, viewing the past with rose-tinted glasses.

One of the heroes of Stanley Hooker’s first career: Ernest Hives as he looked when Hooker first met him. The economy of the country was very depressed, and jobs were hard to come by, and so it seemed quite reasonable to carry on as a student while I could get such funds to support me. He was soon producing academic papers, earning more prizes and scholarships, and, since the Great Depression had closed down any likely career paths, he remained a student in very comfortable circumstances. Of the many great applied mathematicians in the field of aerodynamics or fluid motion whom I have had the good fortune to know, G. But he earned his keep early on, adding many horsepower and much performance to the famous Merlin engine which powered the hurricanes, Spitfires, Lancaster and Mosquito bombers amongst others.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. He was shown into an eight feet square office containing a desk, bare bookcase and a telephone, and left alone. In 1941 the Air Ministry had offered contracts to Rover to start production, but Whittle was growing increasingly frustrated with their inability to deliver various parts to start testing the new engine. Bairstow decided to try to solve them by numerical methods, and employed two ladies to operate with numbers, just as present-day computers do, although the ladies were a few million times slower. His contribution to the Merlin supercharger programme which he tenaciously continued throughout WW2 enabled RAF planes to remain incrementally competitive in combat against the Luftwaffe.

He was in the enviable position of having the necessary “smarts” to begin with, so keeping up with the academic side of things never seems to have troubled him and he was able to concentrate on enjoying the whole experience whilst also growing up. This inability to see the reality and to have been suckered into the fake image presented to him by Chinese officials is the one faux pas noted in the book. Ideally, this book should be read after 20 minutes or so spent listening and watching a documentary film on YouTube, passages of which show Hooker sitting at a desk talking and playing with a pad and pencil. Hooker also worked on finishing the Olympus, developing later versions that would be used on the Avro Vulcan and Concorde and a further development for the stillborn TSR2.

Thus, Hives to Spencer Wilkes, “ Hooker, here, seems to get on very well with Whittle, and knows all about his jet engine. In 1952, Hooker was asked by the Folland company whether he could produce a 5,000 lbf (22 kN) thrust engine to power their new lightweight fighter, the Gnat.